


we can blame it all on human nature

by shibecafe



Category: NINE PERCENT (Band), 偶像练习生 | Idol Producer (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Gen, M/M, happy birthday nongnong sorry i turned you into a dog, justin is an idiot, linong centric btw, linong suffers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2018-10-03
Packaged: 2019-07-24 14:02:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16176560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shibecafe/pseuds/shibecafe
Summary: “Justin… Are you sure this is safe?” Linong watches at Justin mixes together some weird powders and other miscellaneous ingredients from Zhengting’s workroom.Justin waves a nonchalant hand in Linong’s direction. “Of course I’m sure. I’ve been studying potion making for years.”“Just because you’ve been studying something for years doesn’t mean you know what you’re doing.” Is Chengcheng’s response.  Linong is inclined to agree.





	we can blame it all on human nature

**Author's Note:**

> happy birthday chen linong!
> 
> title taken from _talk too much_ by coin. the whole song doesn't have much to do with the fic at all - nothing, actually - but i just liked this line. 
> 
> inspired vaguely by a yanren fic, which you can read [here!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15450888)
> 
> here is a playlist i listened to while writing. disclaimer: it has nothing to do with the fic at all. it's just the songs i had on repeat. another disclaimer: this fic is super self-indulgent. i'm so sorry for it
> 
> p.s special thanks to becca for letting me be annoying about this fic all the time - i'd have gone bananas if it weren't for you <3

“Justin… Are you  _ sure  _ this is safe?” Linong watches at Justin mixes together some weird powders and other miscellaneous ingredients from Zhengting’s workroom. Linong doesn’t know how he ended up in his friend’s brother’s office, or how he let Justin start mixing things together, but now that he’s here he has no idea how to stop it. Whatever  _ it  _ is.

Justin waves a nonchalant hand in Linong’s direction. “Of course I’m sure. I’ve been studying potion making for years.”

“Just because you’ve been studying something for years doesn’t mean you know what you’re doing.” Is Chengcheng’s acidic response. Linong is inclined to agree. He and Chengcheng are sitting on the red couch that Zhengting keeps in his room while Justin hovers off the ground over the cauldron, loose t-shirt moving in a wind that only affects the youngest of them. 

While Chengcheng scrolls on his phone, Linong takes the time to look around the room they’re in. He’s been to Justin’s apartment a million times before, but this is only the third time he’s ever been in Zhengting’s workspace. There are shelves upon shelves of different things, powders and liquids and anything that could ever be needed to make potions. Linong thinks he might have seen a jar of eyes somewhere, but he doesn’t want to think about that. 

The ceilings are high, and the window is wide and curved, looking over the nicest part of Beijing. Linong knows Justin’s mishmash little family is rich, crazy rich - a conglomeration of their seven families wealths - but sometimes he forgets just  _ how  _ rich they truly are. They aren’t really ones to flaunt their wealth, so when he sees rooms like Zhengting’s potions room, he’s in awe by just how much some extra money can do. 

“Hey, Nongnong,” Justin calls. He’s hovering higher over the cauldron than last time Linong looked at him, as well as being upside down. If Linong didn’t know how good Justin’s levitation skills were, he’d probably panic. But he’s seen Justin hover over more perilous things than a potion for… whatever it is Justin’s making. “Come here and tell me if this looks right.” 

“I don’t even know what you’re making, though?” He says, but gets up and walks over anyway, not much one to deny his friends anything. He peers into the cauldron. The mixture inside is a muted orange colour, calmly moving with little whorls of yellow and a strange glimmer. “It looks fine to me, whatever it is.” 

“It’s an invisibility potion so Cheng and I can skip class.” Justin whispers. “Anyway, I think it’s going well. The yellow is unusual for this kind of potion, but that’s probably from me adjusting the recipe so the potion won’t last as long.” Linong is apprehensive about changing recipes, especially when it’s  _ Justin  _ changing them, but that’s life. Not everything can work out safely, though Linong does hope that nothing bad will come of this experiment.

With a hum, he moves back to the couch, suddenly feeling very, very sleepy after looking into the mesmerising spin of Justin’s potion. The couch is super plush, soft and ultra comfy, so it doesn’t take too long for Linong to drift off completely, surrounded by Chengcheng’s gentle humming and the feeling of friendship.

-

Linong wakes up to Justin and Chengcheng staring at him. He blinks sleep out of his eyes, still half asleep and drowsy from his impromptu nap. 

“Drink this, Nongnong!” Justin’s smile is a million times too bright for Linong to deal with right after waking up, so he just shoves his hand out for whatever Justin wants him to consume. Justin pushes a warm mug into his hand. Without much thought, Linong takes a tentative sip, and is pleasantly surprised by the sweet vanilla taste. He promptly drinks the rest of it. 

He hears Justin giggling and squints. “Why are you laughing at me?” 

“Because you just drank the potion I was making earlier.” 

Linong feel very awake now. “Hey, you can’t just make people drink your funky potions! Without consent!” He’s not really mad. Not much could go wrong, probably. It’s just Justin messing around with pretty harmless ingredients. AT least Linong is pretty sure they’re harmless.

“C’mon, it’s fine!” Chengcheng frowns. “Well, you aren’t invisible, so I don’t think it worked anyway. Justin, back to the drawing board for us.” 

Justin looks dejected. A consoling pat is all Linong can offer him as the three of them speed clean Zhengting’s office. Once everything is spotless, Linong drags the other two out of the office, not wanting to tempt fate. The rest of the afternoon is spent half-assing homework and playing games, at least until Zhengting barges into Justin’s room, eyes bright and his boyfriend Eunki trailing behind. 

“Nongnong, are you staying for dinner?” Zhengting is a really sweet guy and has practically adopted Linong into the family, but despite having known him for years, Linong still feels bad for intruding on their family dinners. 

“No thanks, Zhengting-ge. I need to head home now anyway, Kaihao and I have plans.” He and Kaihao don’t actually have plans, but the others don’t know that. So Linong bids his goodbyes and heads home.

The morning brings with it a massive headache and achy limbs, and the sun is way too bright for Linong’s poor eyes. It’s painful to drag himself to the shower, but some of the achiness goes away as he stands under the hot water. The idea of having to go to classes almost pains Linong, but he throws on some clean clothes and a pair of sunglasses and says goodbye to Kaihao and Zhibang anyway.

Every single sound outside feels like a knife to Linong’s brain, but he powers on. The aches in his limbs go away, only to be replaced by tingles and pinpricks. Usually he likes to drop by the café and grab something to drink, but he feels too groggy and out of it this morning. By the time he gets to campus and is inside the performing arts building, his head begins to spin so harshly that he has to duck into an empty and dark practice room for just a moment of peace. 

The room is cool, and brings relief to his burning skin. The mirror feels good on his warm cheek when he slumps against it in the furthest corner form the door. 

Out of nowhere, his joints begin to seize up. The pain is so intense that Linong has to clench his jaw to stop himself from yelling in pain. Resounding cracks fill the empty room, echoing harshly and stabbing into Linong’s ears. 

Tears roll down his cheeks, unstoppable and uncontrollable, as his body reconfigures itself. 

Not much could go wrong, huh? Famous last words. 

Eventually, Linong passes out. 

When he comes to, everything feels different. He can hear the doorknob turning so acutely that it’s almost like his ear is pressed against the door. Linong knows he stumbled in as far from the door as possible, so he doesn’t understand how he can hear the mechanisms so clearly. He opens his eyes and is startled to realise that he can see almost perfectly in the dim lighting. Trying to get up proves difficult. He can’t figure out why, but his balance is completely messed up, and it’s hard to get his legs to support him.

The door opens to reveal two laughing boys, both wrapped up in each other completely as one of them reaches out to flick on the lights. Linong tries to cough politely, but all that comes out is an aborted hack. The two boys look over to Linong’s corner, and the shorter of the two’s eyes light up. 

“Oh, Yanjun, who would leave their dog in here.” He says. Linong is taken aback. No one has ever greeted him like that. He’s been told he has a puppy-like personality, but this is just strange, because he’s never even met this guy before. He thinks he might have seen him around in the halls, but other than that, he doesn’t know the guy at all.

“I’m  _ not  _ a puppy, thank you very much.” Linong tries to say. tries to, because that isn’t what comes out. He barks. Like a dog. Like a  _ puppy _ . The short guy looks absolutely delighted by Linong barking. He begins to walk over to Linong slowly, but Linong is frozen looking at the mirror on the other wall. 

Because staring back at him is not the Linong he usually sees in the mirror.

Staring back at him is the face of a dog. 

_ Goddamn Justin Huang. _

-

Linong finds himself being patted by the shorter boy that walked into the practice room. He feels kind of humiliated, but he’s not sure what to do, and the scratches behind his ears  _ do  _ feel pretty damn good. 

“Zhangjing… I think we need to take him to admin.” The taller guy, all intense eyes and swoopy hair, is staring at Linong in consternation. Has been for the past ten minutes. Linong feels strangely  _ seen  _ by his dark eyes. It’s weird, and he’s not a fan at all.

Zhangjing, because  _ that’s  _ the shorter guy’s name, sighs. “I know. But don’t you think we should wait here with him for a little bit longer? What if his owner left him here for a reason?” Linong is kind of touched by Zhangjing’s concern, but mostly upset that he’s even stuck in this situation. 

“He doesn’t even have a collar. I don’t think he has an owner.” 

“Yanjun…” Zhangjing stops petting Linong, and he’s horrified to realise that he wants Zhangjing to go back to gently massaging his ears. Almost against his own will, he nudges Zhangjing’s hand. The hand returns. “Just humour me.” 

The sigh that Yanjun lets out is less reluctant than Linong would expect out of this situation. He sits down on Linong’s other side finally, after having been pacing for a while, and rests a hand on Linong’s back. 

God. He really hates how good the contact feels. 

As Zhangjing keeps rubbing gentle circles on his head, Linong feels his eyes closing. Sleep is probably not the best idea, but it’s just  _ so  _ tempting…

He’s jostled awake. With a start, he realises he’s being carried by someone. “Oh, he’s awake.” It’s the taller guy from the practice room. “Should I put him down? I don’t want him to run away before we get to admin.” 

Zhangjing hums. “He didn’t run off when we left the door open to the practice room, so I think he’ll be fine.” Linong finds himself placed on the ground gently, cold hands still around his middle keeping him steady. Or to make sure he can be grabbed if he decided to run away. He wants to tell Yanjun that he has absolutely no plans of running away, but he can’t, so he just settles for staring at Yanjun expectantly. 

When Yanjun stands up, Linong feels dizzy. Being so close to the ground… being at knee level with someone he thinks he’d be taller than if he were human… he kind of wants to pass out for the third time. Instead, he sits down. 

“Come on, puppy. Come here.” Zhangjing beckons him closer. Something tugs at his brain, compelling him to go closer to the guy. Hard pressed to ignore his newly gained nature, Linong wobbles over to him. Zhangjing keeps backing away, and keeps beckoning Linong closer, and eventually Linong’s balance makes a comeback and he can walk just fine. 

Zhangjing seems to realise that he’s following with no qualms, so he just starts walking normally towards admin. Resigned to his fate, Linong makes his way onwards. He doesn’t think anyone will be able to figure out that he’s even human, let alone that he’s Chen Linong. 

The temptation to run away from these new people is there, but he ignores it. Going back to his apartment would be pointless, because Kaihao would be at dance practice now, and Zhibang had plans to go and see Zhou Rui for the day. Going to  _ Justin’s  _ apartment would prove just as fruitless, since he doubts the staff of the apartment building would let a dog into the building without residential permission or accompaniment. 

The walk to the admin building is full of people trying to pat him, but whenever he shies away, Yanjun is there telling students to back off. Linong is grateful for that bit of protection, even if it makes him feel kind of useless. 

While Zhangjing goes into admit to inquire about any missing dogs, Yanjun and Linong sit on the stairs. “Why would anyone bring their dog to school, let alone leave him in a dance room?” Yanjun asks him. Linong just stares at him. “I don’t know why I’m asking you. It’s not like you can understand me.” Linong can understand him, actually. Not that he could communicate that in any way.

The two of them sit in silence until Zhangjing comes out. “No one’s come to admin about him. Maybe if we post on social media we’ll find his owner.” Zhangjing reaches out a hand and tugs Yanjun up from the stairs. “He doesn’t have a collar, and we don’t know his name.” Linong just follows them and listens as they talk. “We could come up with a nickname for him. I don’t know if he’ll respond to it, though.” Yanjun frowns. “Any ideas?” 

A breeze ruffles Linong’s fur lightly. He picks up the smell of all the things that make up a city - lots of perfume, car exhaust, sweat and food. It’s overwhelming just how much he can smell and hear. He can hear conversations of people walking thirty meters away from them. The three of them walk back to the performing arts building. 

“Nongnong?” Yanjun says suddenly. Linong’s ears perk up. He’s shocked, honestly, by Yanjun actually using his nickname. 

“What gave you that idea.” Zhangjing snorts. Linong nods along. 

With a shrug, Yanjun shoulders open the door and gestures the two of them in. “It just feels right.” Linong’s life seems to just be full of bafflement at this point. He’s even more baffled when he precedes Yanjun’s entrance into their practice room and sees seven more guys, five of whom are scattered around the edges of the room, and the last two who are rolling around in the middle of the room, screaming obscenities at each other like men possessed. 

“Lu Dinghao, you shut the fuck up  _ right now  _ or I’ll beat your ass into next week!” The boy with tanned skin and droopy eyes points a threatening finger at the lankier, slimmer boy he’s current straddling. 

Said slimmer boy sneers. “You wish you were tall enough to beat my ass, Lin Chaoze. Come back when you’ve grown five inches!” 

Suffice to say that Linong is genuinely terrified. An obnoxiously tall boy looks over to them. “Oh! Yanjun-ge and Zhangjing-ge are here, everyone. It only took them five times longer than usual.” 

“Maotong, we love you, but be quiet.” Lu Dinghao says. The force is lost when he’s sprawled on the floor under another person half his size, but Linong has to commend the effort given. Maotong looks nonplussed. Linong wonders if this is a normal occurrence. 

When Yanjun and Zhangjing just look at each other and sigh, he concludes that yes, this happens a lot. That does not bode well for Linong’s sanity. The two on the ground only separate when they notice Linong shifting from paw to paw. 

“Man, I knew you two were in love or whatever disgusting shit you freaks believe in, but I didn’t think you were whipped enough to get a dog together.” Linong really wants to turn tail and run when Dinghao sets his sights on him. 

Someone snorts loudly. Zhangjing blushes furiously, and Yanjun shoves Dinghao. “We didn’t adopt a dog together, you degenerate. We found him,” Yanjun gestures vaguely. “around. We’re calling him Nongnong, since he doesn’t seem to have a real name.” Linong wants to say that, well, they pretty much have his real name, but being a dog really hinders your conversational skills. Linong shift uneasily when Dinghao steps towards him. He’s intimidated by the other guy, despite his cute face. 

“He doesn’t want me to go near him! What did you say to him about me.” Dinghao whines. 

“Bro, you did that yourself by being an obnoxious idiot.” Yanjun snorts. Someone mutters something like  _ you sound like Wang Ziyi _ . Linong doesn’t know what that means.

Zhangjing pats Linong while frowning exasperatedly. Linong just sits down. He can already hell this is going to be a very, very long day. 

-

The day doesn’t turn out to be that long. Getting doted on by 9 guys ends up being more enjoyable than Linong would ever have anticipated, much to his own chagrin. As a human, he likes being taken care of, but it’s a whole different ball game when there’s 9 grown dudes cooing at him and scratching him behind the ears. 

Maotong even gives him some of his lunch. Linong decides then that Maotong is his favourite of all the guys. He’s sitting comfortably on the floor watching Maotong play games on his phone when a staccato knock on the door interrupts Dinghao and Chaoze’s bickering. Chaoze mouths  _ this isn’t over  _ to Dinghao and goes to open the door. “Hello?” 

It’s Justin and Chengcheng. Linong thinks that maybe they’ve figured out they turned him into a dog and are here to  _ fix it _ . 

“Hi, we’re looking for someone? Chen Linong? Have you seen him anywhere? He hasn’t been to any of his classes today, and his phone is disconnected. He didn’t come to lunch either. Yanchen-ge said he saw Linong stumbling through the building at eight but no one has seen him since…” Chengcheng hands his phone to Chaoze, photo of Linong pulled up. Justin is clutching onto his hoodie sleeves, looking worried, and Linong feels really bad for just disappearing, even if it wasn’t his fault. He doesn’t know this Yanchen guy, but he kind of wants to berate him to making his friends worry.

As the nine dancer guys discuss between each other about whether or not they saw poor Chen Linong, Linong makes his way over to Justin and Chengcheng in hopes of them recognising him. He nudges Justin’s leg gently. A half-smile breaks out on Justin’s face. 

“Hello, puppy.” He scratches behind Linong’s ear and any and all hope of Justin recognising him goes out the window. He’s really stuck like this until the potion wears off. “Cheng, look at the puppy.” Chengcheng looks into Linong’s eyes, and maybe some hope comes back. But it’s dashed again when Chengcheng pulls his usual dumb face and crouches down to pat Linong too. 

Linong has no idea how he’s going to survive for however long he’s going to be stuck like this. 

“None of us have seen your friend around, I’m sorry.” When Chaoze says that, Justin’s face falls. He looks kind of super miserable. Linong feels just as awful. Justin and Chengcheng both get up. Linong wants to talk to them so badly, wants this weird situation to be over so he can be human again. He’s only been stuck like this for a few hours, but he’s so ready for it to be over and done with.

“Thanks for helping out, guys.” Justin says. When the door opens, Linong goes to walk out with the two of them, but hands grab him around the middle. He whines pitifully as the door shuts, dejected and lonely and wanting to cling to Justin like he normally does. 

Zhangjing’s hands squish Linong’s cheeks. “What’s wrong, Nongnong?” 

Squirming away from the gentle grip, Linong trudges over to the closed door and slumps down in front of it, head on his paws and heart heavy. It’s only been a few hours, but it’s really starting to feel like this ordeal will never end. 

It takes another hour for the dance practice to finish. Linong is amazed by how hard Chaoze makes the group practice, but he can see how it pays off with their synchronisation. The nine of them work like well oiled clockwork, familiar with each other in a way in a way that Linong would compare to Justin and his family/housemates/other non-Linong friends. 

They’re honestly kind of hypnotizing to watch, and Linong finds new things to think about every time they run through their choreography. The collaborative effort that all of them are putting into their performance… Linong decides then and there that he’s going to go to their showcase when he’s human again. If he’d human again by the time the showcase comes around, that is.

“Maotong, you can work on your balance a little bit, but other than that, you’re doing really well. Yanjun, stop moving so far out, it’s messing up the proportions…” Linong tunes Chaoze out as he wraps up the practice session. He’d probably die if he had to work with Chaoze for any kind of performance, if he’s always like this while in leader mode. 

After ten minutes of final debriefing, everyone starts to file out in smaller groups. Jingzuo, Ruotian, Zhixie and Maotong head out together, bickering and laughing and dissing each other. Dinghao grabs Honglin by the arm and drags him the opposite way, whispering about something. Yanjun and Zhangjing pick up all their belongings and call him over to follow them. As far as Linong knows, Chaoze stays in the practice room.

Yanjun and Zhangjing walk very close together, with Yanjun’s arm thrown over Zhangjing’s shoulders. Linong thinks they’re cute, in an old-married-couple kind of way. The picture they paint while walking down the path strewn with slightly crunchy leaves is idealistic, the perfect college romance.

“What are we going to do with Nongnong? He really doesn’t have a collar and doesn’t seem to be in a rush to get anywhere… would it be bad if we took him home?” Perking up at Zhangjing mentioning his name, Linong tunes into their conversation.

Yanjun hums noncommittally. “Wouldn’t hurt to keep him for a while.” He abruptly turns himself and Zhangjing in front of a store. “Bubble tea?” When Zhangjing laughs and nods, Yanjun has a self-satisfied smirk on his face. Linong thinks he looks like a shark. 

The smirk stays in place as he tells Linong to sit and stay outside the store. Hard-pressed to do anything else and not wanting to get lost, Linong parks his butt on the ground and waits. He watches the two of them laugh together inside, sees Yanjun’s fond smile when Zhangjing isn’t looking at him. It’s sweet. 

It doesn’t take long for passers-by to start cooing at him. A teenager crouches down and sticks his hand into Linong’s face before petting him without warning. Suffice to say, Linong is startled and pretty uncomfortable. The teenager leaves as Yanjun and Zhangjing come out of the store. 

Zhangjing pats his head. “Come on, Nongnong. Home we go.” 

The walk is longer than Linong would have thought. Considering the fact that the other two are students, he expected them to live a but closer to campus, but they live a good half hour walk away, in a small apartment building near a few op shops and a mysterious store. Linong might have been there once with Justin and Chengcheng, but he can’t really remember. 

Linong struggles to get up the stairs at first, unused to having to coordinate four legs instead of two, but he figures it out pretty quickly. The staircase is well kept, with pristine banisters and better lighting than what’s in Linong’s apartment staircase. The corridor leading to Zhangjing and Yanjun’s apartment is just as pristine, with soft carpet and nice cream walls. There are four doors, two on each side. 

Loud music comes from one door, and Yanjun snickers. “Linkai is gonna get in so much trouble from Bufan.” Zhangjing cracks a smile. Linong wishes he knew what that meant. Or maybe he doesn’t. 

“Hey, so, about dinner tonight…” As Yanjun unlocks their door, Zhangjing leans down to pat Linong again. He has a habit of always clinging to or touching something that Linong thinks is endearing. Zhangjing starts talking about dinner ideas, but Linong is preoccupied by the door across the hall opening. 

A tall, tall man with angry looking features stomps down the hall to the apartment with loud music and bangs on the door. “Wang Linkai, you vile and insolent little boy, come out here so I can beat you!” 

“I don’t think he’s going to learn, Bufan.” Zhangjing calls down the hall. “How many times have you beaten him up over this already?” Linong wants to laugh at the look on Bufan’s face, a mixture of bafflement and annoyance. 

“I’ll make him learn.” Bufan shakes his fist. Zhangjing laughs lightly and ushers Linong into the apartment. 

The first thing Linong notices about the apartment is that it’s just so cozy and homely. Normally, Linong would think that small apartments have a tendency to seem cramped, but theirs is small in a welcoming kind of way. It’s a little bit messy, but in a lived-in way as opposed to just a childish leaving-things-everywhere way like Justin’s room. 

He weaves his way through the entryway as the others take their shoes off, set on looking round. He figures they can’t fault him for looking around, given the fact that he’s a dog. There’s a stack of books on a little table next to the couch, some looking well-loved and some still in perfect condition. All of them have bookmarks sticking out. 

Beside the T.V there’s a stack of DVD cases, all for American T.V shows and films that Linong doesn’t know the premises for. There’s a hoodie strewn over the couch arm, and textbooks on the kitchen bench. The door to what Linong assumes is the bedroom is shut. When he turns back to Yanjun and Zhangjing, the two of them are leaning over the bench with drinks in hand, watching him roam around. 

Linong feels unreasonably flustered at the idea of them watching him investigate their home. He lays down on the floor in front of the couch, head on paws and attention anywhere but on the two guys in the kitchen. 

“I think he’s embarrassed.” Zhangjing laughs. 

There’s a scoff from next to him. “Dogs probably don’t get embarrassed.” Yanjun says. Linong wants to say  _ well, I’m not a dog,  _ but the frustration is there when he can’t. Zhangjing shrugs and makes his way over to the couch, backpack unzipped. He pulls out a textbook and his laptop and, well. Linong supposes it’s time for homework. 

It doesn’t take long for Yanjun to sit on the couch too, a book from the stack open. Linong watches how easy it is for the two of them to get comfortable together, content to just do things next to each other. It’s so different from the constant noise and bickering that comes with sitting near Justin and Chengcheng, or even Zhibang and Kaihao. Not that Zhibang is all that loud.

Zhangjing looks at Linong and pats the spare space on the couch. “Come here, Nongnong.” When Linong just looks at him, he turns to Yanjun. “Do you think his real owners don’t let him on the couch?” 

Indignantly, Linong hops on the couch and gets comfortable. “I don’t think that’s it at all.” Yanjun gives him a calculating look. Linong is unperturbed, content to just lay and watch Zhangjing study. Yanjun is a nice guy from what Linong has seen, but his intensity is just somewhat off-putting for someone as easy-going as Linong. 

The three of them sit in quiet comfort. Zhangjing eventually makes his way to Yanjun’s lap, and Linong’s thoughts stray to Justin and Chengcheng and Kaihao and all of his friends. He wonders if they’re worried, more-so than what he saw from Justin and Chengcheng in the dance rooms earlier in the day. 

He wonders if Kaihao knows he’s disappeared. If Zhibang has mentioned him to Zhou Rui. He wants to know if Zhengting has done anything to search for him. The thought of his friends worrying about him makes a bitter taste stick in his mouth, but Linong can’t help thinking about all the possibilities. 

The negative thoughts make him feel so lonely. He kind of wants to curl up closer to Zhangjing and Yanjun, but that feels too much like he’s resigning himself to being like this. Which he isn’t. At all. 

His thoughts are shaken away by Zhangjing’s voice. “What are we going to feed him?” It doesn’t take much to figure out that Zhangjing is talking about him. 

Yanjun doesn’t look away from his book when he answers. “We can go by the pet store when we get dinner.” 

“Oh, come on, it’s his first night with us, we should give him something  _ better  _ than dog food.” Zhangjing shuts his laptop and turns to face Yanjun. Yanjun’s lips curl up slightly, eyes twinkling. 

“I don’t know… What if he doesn’t like human food?” Yanjun’s voice is teasing. Linong thinks Zhangjing is pouting at him, but he’s more focused on trying to signal his approval at the idea of eating human food. Dog food does  _ not  _ sound nice. Zhangjing whines a little bit more, but Linong can tell that Yanjun has already caved in. He doesn’t think Yanjun is the kind of guy to deny Zhangjing anything. 

Eventually Yanjun starts laughing, head thrown back and smile obnoxiously wide. He kind of looks like a shark again. Zhangjing starts hitting his arm, and Linong feels a sense of comfort he didn’t think was possible given the situation. Like maybe things will turn out alright eventually. 

The two of them do end up giving him normal food, much to Linong’s relief. He gets some dumplings and noodles on a plate next to the kitchen bench. It’s truly a lesson in letting himself go and try to not be embarrassed when he has to eat right off the plate. Not that he has much to be embarrassed now that he’s stuck as a dog. 

With the exception of the morning, Linong hasn’t been alone at all, so when Zhangjing and Yanjun clean up and start getting ready for bed, he feels antsy and nervous about being left to his own devices while the two of them sleep. 

He paces for a while after the lights get turned off. He can hear the two of them talking quietly, too intimate for Linong to feel comfortable listening in. The monotonous ticking of his nails on the hardwood takes his mind away from any worrying thoughts. 

The feeling of complete and utter exhaustion starts setting in not long after. Zhangjing and Yanjun are still awake, so Linong nudges the bedroom door open and goes in. Zhangjing has his head on Yanjun’s shoulder while the two of them scroll on their phones, soft music playing from Yanjun’s phone.  

“Told you he’d come in here eventually.” Yanjun says, nudging Zhangjing. 

“Whatever,” Zhangjing scoffs. “Nongnong, come here.” He pats the bed. It’s clearly an encouragement, or an invitation, to join them on the bed, but Linong doesn’t know them that well and feels kind of weird about joining them in bed. Then he thinks about the idea of feeling alone on the floor or out on the couch, and suddenly sleeping in the same bed at these two guys he only met today doesn’t seem that weird. 

Suffice to say, he joins them. 

-

The next few weeks pass by in much the same way. 

Yanjun wakes up and disentangles himself from Zhangjing’s death grip. He gets dressed, and takes Linong outside for a walk. They stop by the café near the apartment on the way back, outside of which Yanjun tells Linong to stay. (He does, because he doesn’t want to get lost. He quite enjoys staying with Yanjun and Zhangjing, and the idea of getting lost in Beijing just isn’t all that appealing.) Yanjun returns with two drinks in hand - one that looks like straight black coffee with nothing added to it, and the other something that looks milky and sugary with lots of whipped cream on top. 

On the first day, Linong expects the black coffee to be Yanjun’s and the sugary coffee to be Zhangjing’s, but gets surprised when Zhangjing snatches the black coffee from Yanjun’s hand upon seeing it. The next hour is spent sitting next to Zhangjing on the couch, waiting for Yanjun to get out of the shower, and then five minutes is spent waiting for Zhangjing. Linong shivers at the thought of their monthly water bill. 

The walk to the university is stopped in the middle by dropping by the same café for a quick breakfast, and then they’re off to campus for real. 

In situations like Linong’s, he’s glad that he goes to a university where a lot of students have familiars, so no one bats an eye at him trailing behind Zhangjing and Yanjun. The only real struggle was the two of them trying to decide who took was going to take Linong to class, but it was quickly decided that it’d probably be better for Linong to go to classes with Zhangjing, which is how it stays for next few weeks.

Linong doesn’t know how many lectures that aren’t his own he can handle, or how he’ll get back on track with his course once he’s human again, but he powers on to avoid thinking about that. At least he knows way more about vocal technique and art than he ever thought he would.

He likes Zhangjing’s classmates the most, though. Yanchen is sweet, giving Linong treats from his lunch when he walks in with Zhangjing. He also lives just down the hall from Zhangjing and Yanjun, much to Linong’s delight. Any thoughts that Linong had about berating him for worrying Justin and Chengcheng earlier in the month are dashed when Yanchen smiles. Mubo and Qin Fen are older students, sweet and kind to both Linong and Zhangjing. Qin Fen is kind of an oddball, but Linong thinks he’s funny. 

Ruibin is a tall and willowy guy who’s so softspoken that Linong wants to curl up next to him and fall asleep to his voice. Ziyang is someone that initially scared Linong a little bit, but turned out to just be concerned for one of his roommates given the fact that he only recently started going to classes. Those two also live in the same hall as Zhangjing and Yanjun.

It’s a really small world, Linong thinks, because Ziyang’s roommate is one of his classmates too. 

The biggest shocker is Zhou Rui, though. It pains Linong to sit next to Zhangjing while Zhou Rui is just a few metres away, unable to tell him that he’s Linong. Zhou Rui mentions him one day, when everyone’s packing up after the lecture. 

“You guys remember my little mentee, Hu Zhibang?” Zhou Rui says, hands in his hair to tie it back. Everyone makes a sound of acknowledgement, so Zhou Rui continues. “Yeah, one of his roommates has gone missing. He’s been gone a week and a half. Chen Linong, you guys are bound to know him? He had the performance board enamoured last term at the talent showcase.” Linong is half flustered by that statement.

Ruibin sighs. “That’s awful. Does Zhibang know where he might be?” 

Zhou Rui shakes his head. “They’ve looked everywhere, he and Kaihao. Linong’s other friends, Zhu Zhengting’s little clique, also have their magical little feelers out and haven’t found a single thing about Linong. It’s really weird. They said Linong’s not one to do this kind of thing, so they’re all really worried. They even called his family back in Taiwan to ask if he’d gone back for some reason, but they said he hasn’t. Apparently his mom said that it would be fine, that kids do that sometimes. That irked me.” 

That makes Linong feel absolutely awful. He leans heavily on Zhangjing’s leg, craving the comfort of touch. The group of them keep talking about poor missing Chen Linong as they walk to their next classes or the library or wherever, but Linong just tunes them out and trails after Zhangjing mindlessly. 

“Guys, I have to meet Chaoze and Dinghao, so I’ll see you later!” Zhangjing finally,  _ finally _ , breaks away from the conversation. Linong is relieved. He really doesn’t want to hear anything more about how his friends are in a tizzy trying to find him. “Come on, Nongnong.” Zhangjing pats his head and the two of them start making their way towards the performing arts building. 

Linong spots Zhengting and Wenjun across the quad. Zhengting is gesticulating wildly, and Wenjun seems like he’s frowning. Choosing not to dwell on what might be happening, Linong starts running forward. He hears Zhangjing groan, but keeps going towards the dance rooms. 

The door to the building is shut, so when he reaches it, Linong just sits down to wait for Zhangjing to catch up. “Stop  _ doing  _ that,” Zhangjing points a finger at Linong, who just tilts his head and blinks innocently. He supposes he does it a lot, dashing off and waiting for Zhangjing to catch up to him. 

Dinghao and Chaoze are already sat in the dance room when Linong and Zhangjing get there, both on their phones. After spending so much time near them, Linong thinks they just need to get together already, but they don’t seem even remotely near accepting the fact that they’re both madly in love with each other. 

He settles for just trotting over to Chaoze for pats, and then Dinghao, because despite how chaotic Dinghao can be, he gives  _ really  _ good ear scratches. 

“Who’s the best boy ever?” Dinghao coos. “Nongnong is!” Dinghao’s habit of baby-talking him is awful, but worth it for the ear scratches. Kind of. Not really. 

“Stop torturing him, Dinghao.” Chaoze says.

“I’m not! He loves the scratches! Look, he’s so happy.” As if to prove his point, Dinghao scratches Linong some more. Linong can’t help but wriggle. 

The choreographer raises an eyebrow at Dinghao. “I meant the baby talk, you absolute idiot.” Dinghao sniffles indignantly. “Leave Nongnong alone now, we have work to do.” 

The work ends up being extra choreo practice just for Dinghao and Zhangjing, so Linong curls up on Zhangjing’s hoodie resolves to have a nap. 

He’s rudely awaken sometime later by loud laughter and noise right next to his ears. Blinking sleep away, Linong opens his eyes to see Zhangjing and Yanjun’s whole clique  _ plus  _ extra people filling the dance room. Some of them Linong recognises from Zhangjing’s classes and some he recognises from his own classes. Some of them he’s never seen before, though. 

Startled but excited to meet new people, Linong starts making his way around the room, greeting everyone with a nudge and accepting any pats that come his way. He hadn’t realised the date, but he thinks this must be Zhangjing’s birthday surprise that Yanjun and Chaoze had been discussing with the rest of their group (sans Zhangjing, of course.)

It’s pretty amusing to see all the guys goofing off, pushing each other around and having fun. Linong wishes he could join in, at least in a more human way, because running around and jumping to get people’s attention isn’t as rewarding as being able to hold a good conversation. Linong thinks he might see Quanzhe and Zhengting milling around too, but he isn’t sure. 

Eventually, all the interaction becomes all too much for Linong, so he makes his way back to the corner where everyone left their bags and other belongings. He can feel a headache starting to form behind his eyes, and his legs kind of feel a bit like jelly. 

Burrowing under a blanket seems like the best course of action, but all that’s around is a pile of jackets, so Linong makes do and shuffles his way under someone’s discarded jacket. It smells like vanilla and strawberries and burnt leaves, equally familiar and new to Linong. He’s startled to realise that it smells like Zhengting. 

It’s enough to make him backpedal, jumping out from under the jacket and back into the buzz of the festivities. The feeling of missing Zhengting and the others comes back in full force from where Linong had neatly shoved it away in a little mental box. He sees Maotong sitting a little ways away with some of the younger students and an older guy that joined in for Zhangjing’s day, so he makes his way over there too, hoping for a distraction. 

“...And then Ruotian told me to stop playing PUBG for five minutes and listen to him, but I didn’t hear, because I was playing PUBG.” Maotong is laughing when Linong leans against him. “Oh, Nongnong. Guys, this is Nongnong, the dog-that-isn’t-really-a-dog that Yanjun and Zhangjing found a few weeks back.”

_ Dog that isn’t really a dog?  _ Linong wants to know what that means, and luckily one of the others  _ does  _ ask. It’s the older guy, one of Ziyang and Bufan’s roommates. “What do you mean not really a dog, Maotong?” He looks pretty fierce, but Maotong doesn’t seem cowed by it. 

“Well, he’s not a real dog.” He says. 

“Looks pretty real to me.” Zhenghao squints at Linong, who decides to trot over and sit by him. “Acts like a real dog, too.” 

“Can you guys not sense it?” Maotong frowns. “He has this human energy. Aura. Whatever. I just thought everyone knew that.” 

The oldest of the group sighs. “It seems you’ve forgotten that you’re the only one of us that can read energies at that level.”

“What did Maotong forget?” Jingzuo joins their little group, throwing an arm over Maotong’s shoulder. “I’m not surprised he forgot whatever it is, we all know his brain is a little…” He fake grimaces, and laughs when Maotong starts pinching his sides. 

The headache that started plaguing Linong earlier comes back threefold. He slumps miserably to the floor, ready to just fall apart at the seams. Looking longingly at the door, he sighs. When he’s about to close his eyes, the eldest (whose name he still doesn’t remember) stands up.

“Nongnong, come here.” He clicks his fingers, and if Linong weren’t feeling so run down, he’d be annoyed at the clicking. But right now he can’t really be bothered to feel anything, so he just forces himself up and trudges after the guy. Blessedly, he leads them outside, into the cooler and quieter hallway. “Do you have a real name, Nongnong?” 

Linong thinks,  _ Chen Linong I’m Chen Linong _ , but it’s not like anyone would understand him. 

“Chen Linong as in, missing student Chen Linong?” Linong stops short.  _ What?  _ “So you  _ are  _ human. Maotong was right. How did this happen to you? Name’s Yue Minghui. Reading minds is my shtick. Reading human minds, at least.” Linong doesn’t know who he expected the guy to be, but he really didn’t think this is how he’d meet the famed Lao Yue that Ziyang hs mentioned so many times.

Minghui scoffs. “Lao Yue. I’ll kick Mu Ziyang’s ass later. Moving on. If you’re missing student Chen Linong, we need to get you to your friends so they can fix everything. I’m going to need you to work with me here, Linong. Tell me what happened.” 

It’s kind of weird that he’s so straightforward, but Linong tells him. Or more so, he thinks it all. And somehow Minghui understands. He tells Minghui how Justin was trying to make an invisibility potion for himself and Chengcheng - how they tricked Linong into being their guinea pig. How nothing happened, and he went home, but woke up feeling awful. 

It’s kind of embarrassing to tell Minghui about how he stumbled through these very halls and completely passed out in one of the practice rooms, but the senior doesn’t even bat an eye. There’s a frown on Minghui’s face by the time Linong’s explanation is over. Linong doesn’t know what to expect now, isn’t sure what’s going to happen now, doesn’t know how Minghui plans to fix this whole situation. Or if Minghui even  _ can  _ fix everything. 

“We can fix this, Linong.” Minghui points a finger and Linong. “It might be a bit hard to facilitate but we can fix this. Probably by next week.” 

The confidence in his voice is somewhat relieving, though Linong is worried about why it might be hard to facilitate. But focussing on the positives in how he wants to operate, so that’s what he does. 

-

When Minghui said it would be difficult to facilitate the fixing of the issue, Linong had believed him. 

He didn’t account for Yanjun and Zhangjing having having to go out of town for a few days, though. Linong had totally forgotten that they were flying out to visit Zhangjing’s family, and would be leaving him behind. Fate works in mysterious ways, it seems.

Despite only having taken care of Linong for a few weeks, Yanjun and Zhangjing have racked up quite the routine, so when they brief Yanchen on taking care of him while they’re gone, Linong just flops onto the couch and daydreams for ten minutes. 

He thinks about what he’ll do when he’s human again. He’ll certainly stop by to thank Yanjun and Zhangjing. Maybe he’ll take them out for dinner, or go and see a movie with them. He wants to properly introduce himself to everyone, though he doesn’t think he’ll tell anyone that he was their classmate’s pet dog. 

Keys start jingling their way over to him, and Linong opens his eyes in time to watch Yanjun fumble and drop the apartment keys. 

“That’s fine, this is fine.” He says, grimacing and bending down to pick them up. He chucks them to Yanchen. “Don’t burn our apartment down, Mr. Zhou. Goodbye.” He tugs a waving Zhangjing out the door, bags in hand. 

Yanchen gives them a cheery goodbye and shuts the door. He turns to Linong, dazzling grin on his face. “Okay, Linong. It’s time to make you human again.” 

Half an hour later, Linong finds himself being carried by a smiling Yanchen, who’s trailing after a chattering Minghui and a snickering Dinghao. It’s an unlikely trio to be stuck with, but that’s the price Linong pays for letting Justin do this to him in the first place. 

He’s not sure why Yanchen is carrying him. He has legs that work just fine. Though maybe it’s for the best, given the fact that the streets are obscenely busy. 

“What if he’s not really a human and you’re just a delusional old man, Lao Yue?” Dinghao skips out of Minghui’s reach when the elder tries to whack him, laughing obnoxiously. 

“Don’t be annoying. Of course he’s really a human.” The look on Minghui’s face could kill, and Linong thinks there’d be no remorse involved if the gremlin known as Lu Dinghao somehow met a mysterious end. 

The banter that they share soothes Linong’s heart. He feels that it won’t be too hard to become friends with them for real - that it’s going to all work out like sunshine and roses and glittery happy things. Honestly, he can’t even bring himself to be mad at Justin for causing everything. Linong is just excited to be able to hang out with everyone as a human again.

It doesn’t take much longer for their group to turn into a shop - the magic shop that Linong has passed by and  _ maybe  _ gone into before. The large bay windows flood the room with light, illuminating crystals and jars and hanging plants. Stairs lead up to a landing, off which several doors lead to God knows what. Books are stacked high on all sorts of benches - some old and battered and some new and shiny. 

Lightbulbs hang from thin strings, attached to seemingly nothing and floating around the shop. The shop itself is much, much bigger than it looks from outside, and that’s not just because of Linong’s being a dog issue. Maybe it’s a pocket dimension, his brain supplies. There are different things moving around up near the rafters; bowls and books and plants and, curiously, a big lizard. 

“Wang Ziyi! We need you down here.” Dinghao’s voice is way too loud for the atmosphere in the shop, but he doesn’t seem to care at all. A clatter sounds from upstairs. The door furthest from the staircase opens abruptly, and a very tall and  _ very  _ ruffled guy stumbles out. 

Linong hears Minghui mutter something about  _ stupid Cai Xukun messing with the shopkeeper _ . 

Dinghao starts picking up jars and flipping through books, which seems unwise given his track record. Linong is mildly terrified of what might happen if Dinghao messes with anything seriously. He might end up cursed again, permanently. The though makes him shudder.

Curiosity gets the best of Linong and he wriggles his way out of Yanchen’s grip. Everything is different from the floor, not that Linong expected anything other than that. He has a look around the room while the mysterious Wang Ziyi comes down the stairs and talks to Minghui. 

On the lower shelves, he can see charms and runes scattered around, glowing or glimmering in the dim shelf light. There’s one large jar further down full of what looks like real, genuine starlight. Linong is impressed. 

“Chen Linong, get your scrawny butt over here so we can fix this.” Minghui calls him over. Linong doesn’t really want to stop looking at the things around the shop, but he  _ does  _ want to be human again, so he makes his way around tables and shelves to get to the others. 

He gets a proper look at Wang Ziyi once he’s over there. He’s pretty tall, in a slim and athletic kind of way. He has kind eyes and a sweet smile, pretty in a way that Linong had hoped he would be when he was younger. Ziyi radiates this gentle calm, peaceful and soothing in such a way that Linong is more than inclined to trust him. Though, he does look more ruffled up close. Linong decides not to think about why. 

Ziyi smiles brighter at Linong, scratching at his neck. “Hey, Linong. I’m going to lift you onto this table now.” The hands that gently lift Linong are huge, hands that Justin would probably call yaoi hands because he’s annoying and awful. “Alright. Sit here for a moment and I’ll be right back.” Ziyi ducks off behind a shelf. 

“Hey, Yueyue, Yanchen, how are you going to explain to Yanjun and Zhangjing that you hijacked their dog and turned him into a human?” Dinghao is smiling, but it’s a sharp edged smile. 

“I’ll leave that to you, Lu Dinghao. You know them best.” Minghui is scrolling on his phone, face indifferent as Dinghao huffs indignantly. The two of them bicker while Yanchen and Linong watch on, amused. Dinghao is amazingly talented at bickering with everyone about everything. 

Ziyi comes back with his arms full of things, and other things trailing behind him in mid-air. Linong has seen Zhengting do the same thing a million times, but it never ceases to amaze him when he sees people levitating a lot of things without so much as a thought. He organises everything neatly on the table, and makes a cauldron materialise. He hums to himself, picking up jars and flipping through the pages of a thick book. 

He walks away for a moment, bending down at a shelf and coming back up with the jar of starlight in hand. Next, he starts putting things into the cauldron while muttering and moving his hands around. Pale blue light emanates from the cauldron and Linong is mesmerised - so mesmerised that he doesnt notice Ziyi coming close until the witch tugs some fur out of his side. 

When Linong yelps, Ziyi apologises profusely before going back to making the potion. Minghui walks off, looking through the shelves with practice ease. Yanchen mumbles something about going to get drinks for everyone and leaves, doorbell tinkling as the door opens and shuts. Dinghao is dozing off with his head on the table. 

There’s another boy sitting on the stairs that Linong didn’t notice, just watching Ziyi work with a fond half-smile. Linong supposes they’re an item. 

Time passes the way honey moves - thick and slow. Minghui comes back with an armful of things. Yanchen arrives with drinks for everyone - even the boy on the stairs. Dinghao rummages around a big trunk next to their table. Ziyi keeps working. Linong doesn’t know how much time passes.

All Linong can do is watch and listen as Minghui tells him about Ziyi’s shop. How Ziyi had inherited it from his grandmother, tasked with running it. Having to leave school and study online in order to be able to work at the shop - as expected of a boy from a family of such powerful magic. 

“You make it sound like I didn’t have a choice. It wasn’t that big of a deal, I promise it was my choice to run the shop.” Ziyi smiles warmly at Linong. Between Ziyi and Yanchen, Linong is sufficiently dazzled by pretty smiles. After chucking something else into the cauldron, Ziyi claps once and stretches. “That’s about it, bro. We just need to leave it for a few minutes and then it’s good for you to take, Linong.” 

Excitement and anticipation and a little bit of dread well up in Linong’s stomach. 

Ziyi retreats to the stairs, sitting next to his companion. Dinghao starts rattling on about something Chaoze said in the group chat, but Linong can’t focus to save his life. He’s way too antsy - unable to stay still. He starts to pace on the table, face twitching and eyes roaming everywhere and anywhere purely because they can’t stay still. 

“Dude, you’re making  _ me  _ nervous.” Dinghao complains. Feeling guilty, Linong sits down, but he still feels like ants are crawling all over his skin. Ziyi must take pity on him, because he stands up and makes his way over to the cauldron. Peering in, he has a satisfied smile on his face. 

He reaches in and pulls out a single macaron. He places it in front of Linong, and gestures towards it. Linong takes that as his cue to eat it. It’s perfectly sweet, soft but not mushy. Inexplicably, he feels warm while eating it. 

“Hey, that was really good, I want more now.” He says, and frowns. 

He  _ says _ . 

Because he can talk now. 

He can see his hands - human hands - and his fringe flops into his eyes, and Linong has never been more glad to be human. He glad that everything he had on his person when he changed is still on him, otherwise he’d be mortified.

“Oh my  _ God _ ,” he laughs. “I don’t…” He has no idea what to say. He flings himself at Ziyi, grinning and overjoyed. Ziyi returns the hug. Linong proceeds to grab Yanchen and Dinghao, squeezing them as hard as he can. Minghui pats his head affectionately. 

Linong clears his throat and composes himself. “Hello. My name is Chen Linong and I’m sorry for making you think I was a dog for several weeks.” He pauses. “Though it wasn’t my fault. Really! Sometimes Justin just messes his potions up… Normally not this bad though. Oh, no, I’ve got to go and see everyone.” He glances around at the others, who are all looking at him, amused. 

He runs to the door, but pauses before stepping out. “Thank you for helping me!” He calls, before running as fast as he can down the street. He digs around in his pocket for his phone, but is disappointed when it’s out of battery. Frustratingly, it seems like he’s going to have to run all the way to campus. What’s usually a thirty minute walk could be a twenty minutes run, if Linong doesn’t die halfway there.

It’s a small price to pay to let his friends know he’s alright, he supposes. People huff at him when he runs past, and all he can do is shout back apologies. He really doesn’t want to stop, wants to get to campus as quickly as possible. 

The administration building loom in the distance, sticking out in the quad like a sore thumb. It’s a Saturday, so Linong knows that Justin and the others will be in a practice room, goofing around and practicing. The sun is starting to set, so he knows that their practice room slot will be ending soon. He speeds up. He stumbles on the stairs, but catches himself before he can crash into the steps. 

A couple of wandering dance students shoot him odd looks, but he ignores them and tears down the hallway. Justin’s group usually always take the room furthest down the hall, so Linong makes his way down there. 

He’s panting when his hand lands on the doorknob, out of breath from his mad dash across town. He takes a deep centering breath, and pushes open the door. The scene that he walks into is so perfectly chaotic - so very much like his friends that he feels tears well up in his eyes. 

Justin is sitting on top of a hooded Zhengting while Zhengting yells something like  _ Fan Chengcheng, you’re so fat, get off me right now!  _ Chengcheng himself is sitting across the room, leaning over Zeren and scrolling through Zeren’s phone. Xinchun and Quanzhe are trying to talk to Wenjun, who is yoyoing, for whatever reason. 

Quanzhe looks up when the door opens, and makes a surprised sound. “It’s Linong!” 

Everyone stops what they’re doing. Six heads snap towards the door, and that when the chaos starts. Justin bolts towards Linong, yelling about how he was worried and how they thought he was dead and he didn’t know what to do. Zhengting is misty eyed, staring at Linong from his place on the floor. Wenjun and Xinchun are staring blankly at him. Quanzhe and Zeren are whispering furiously at each other, while Chengcheng just clings to Linong like a barnacle. 

“We didn’t know where you were, what were you doing? Are you okay? Did anything happen to you?” Linong never would have expected Justin of all people to fuss over him, but here he is, being fussed over by his youngest friend.

“I’m fine,” He says, patting Chengcheng’s arm where it’s wrapped around his waist. “I was turned into a dog. By your potion.” He says. 

Justin visibly tenses and then wilts, face crumpling. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn't mean to!” 

With a heavy heart, Linong just walks forward and hugs Justin, whispering about how it’s okay, and he’s fine, and it doesn’t matter. 

He’s just glad to be back.

-

The next week is spent catching up on classes and going to cafés, refamiliarising himself with being human. Linong spends a lot of time messaging his family and friends, assuring him that he’s alright. His friends drop by his apartment after classes, often bringing food and movies. 

It feels good to be around them, but Linong has this undercurrent of anxiety about him. He chalks it up to the fact that Yanjun and Zhangjing are coming back in a few hours. It’s a Friday, slightly chilly but not too bad, so Linong throws on a hoodie and ventures outside. He catches a bus and a train to the airport. 

Earlier in the week, he’d met up with Dinghao and his other friends, and they’d all agreed to meet up at the airport to pick up Zhangjing and Yanjun. Though, before they made the choice, there’d been a lot of explaining to do in regards to Linong. Safe to say Maotong got scolded for not saying anything about Linong’s human energy, or whatever.

The airport is super busy, people bustling around. Linong pulls out his phone and texts Chaoze.

**_nongnong_ ** **_  
_ ** hey im here at the airport :D where r u guys ??

**_chaoze ^__^_ ** **_  
_ ** gate 34 - go through security and we’re to the right 

Linong sighs, but pockets his phone and heads towards security. It only takes 10 minutes to get cleared, but he’s jittery and nervous by the time he spots the others. Maotong spots him and starts waving, so Linong picks up his pace and starts jogging to the group.

“Hey!” His grin is met with seven similar smiles. Linong slings an arm around Honglin’s shoulders. 

The eight of them chatter as they wait for their friends. Maotong started a new game, which is unsurprising. Linong doesn’t know anything about the game, but he asks Maotong about it anyway, curious about what has caught his interest so fully. 

The two of them are in the midst of a conversation about something Linong wasn’t paying much attention to when Chaoze and Dinghao start kicking up a fuss about the plane landing. Maotong runs to the window, conversation with Linong forgotten in favour of waiting for the plane to touchdown. 

Linong’s nerves come back tenfold. 

“You’re going to be fine. They won’t lose their minds, Linong.” Chaoze is standing next to him, hands in his pockets and serene smile on his face. Linong has to look down to meet his eyes - but when they do make eye contact, a grin splits Chaoze’s face. Linong feels both reassured but also even more nervous. 

The PA announces that the flight from Malaysia has landed, and is getting ready to disembark. 

“I feel like I’m going to be sick,” Linong says to Ruotian. “What do I say to them?  _ Hi, I’m Nongnong, your pet dog for the past two months!  _ That’s just not acceptable.” He tugs on the hem of his hoodie nervously. 

“You could-” Ruotian is cut off by Chaoze making some kind of hellish sound. People are filing out of the gate, all looking a bit worse for wear. Linong’s heart rate spikes, despite knowing that nothing bad is going to happen. He knows full well that Yanjun and Zhangjing probably won’t care - knows that they’ll probably laugh and accept him into the fold. But he’s still super nervous. 

It takes a while for any of them to spot Yanjun or Zhangjing. The pair of them come out towards the end of the crowd, Zhangjing tugging along a sleepy looking Yanjun. Zhangjing is turning his head from left to right, clearly looking for his group of friends.

His eyes finally catch onto Dinghao and Maotong waving wildly. He laughs delightedly and hits Yanjun’s arm to get his attention. He points at them, smiling wildly. Zhangjing’s eyes linger on Linong for a moment, before he starts pulling Yanjun over in earnest. 

Linong shifts uncomfortably. He sort of feels like he’s astral projecting. 

As it turns out, he didn't have much to worry about at all. By the time the ten of them are outside, Dinghao has already blurted out every detail of the situation, and Yanjun is laughing his ass off. 

He slings one arm around Linong and the other around Zhangjing. “Everything that we did is so much funnier knowing you’re actually a person.” 

“You can’t  _ say that _ , we treated him like  _ dog _ !” Zhangjing, on the other hand, is apologetic and flustered. 

“Um, to be fair, it’s not like you guys could have known…” Linong laughs, nerves forgotten back at gate 34.

After that, it’s easy to fall in the rhythm of friendship with Yanjun and Zhangjing, just as he did with the others. He becomes a semi-permanent fixture in their life, going to lunch with them every week when he’s not with Justin, Chengcheng and Quanzhe or Kaihao and Zhibang. 

Their routine is thus: meet up on a Tuesday to get coffee, or something like that. Sometimes they get a proper lunch, but it really depends on classes and prior plans. Linong gets to the café before they do, usually, so he orders and finds a sunny spot to sit in. Often times he’ll work on homework - magical or class related - while he waits for his friends. 

The barista will call out his name, and he’ll go and pick up his order. Small talk will be made for a moment, before Linong moves back to his table. Within ten minutes, Yanjun and Zhangjing always appear, usually laughing, though sometimes Zhangjing is scolding Yanjun when they walk in. Linong will wave them over, and hand them their drinks (Iced Americano for Zhangjing and Java Chip Frappuccino for Yanjun). Then, it’s easy banter for the three of them for the next hour or so.

Today is no different, Linong basking in the autumn sun while Zhangjing chatters on about something Chaoze did during dance practice and Yanjun goes to get them more drinks. 

“Anyway, enough about me. Was your week alright? Are you free tomorrow?” Zhangjing shakes his empty cup to rattle the ice around. His foot is tapping along to the song playing in the background, and the sun illuminates half of his face.

Linong hums. “It was alright. Nothing much happened. Justin and Zhengting-ge said that they’re going to drag me out tomorrow night for my birthday, but I’m free for the rest of the day.” 

Zhangjing squints. Yanjun sits down again, tray in hand. He pushes Linong’s iced latte over. “What did you say to make him do that ugly face?” Yanjun runs a hand through his hair.

“It’s his birthday tomorrow and he didn’t say anything about it.” Is Zhangjing’s petulant response. 

Yanjun raises an eyebrow. “Okay. And?” He sips on his frappuccino.

“Can you act like you care about celebrating, please?” Linong isn’t sure which of them the comment is directed at, but he’s amused nonetheless. Yanjun does this really ugly, exaggerated pout and Zhangjing grimaces, pushing his face away. “Okay, nevermind.”

Linong laughs.

-

The next day rolls around, and Linong finds his phone vibrating like crazy when he opens his eyes. He kind of expected to be spammed with messages from Justin and Chengcheng, because they do that every year, but he’s surprised to see just as many - if not more - messages from his new friends. He feels warm and fuzzy inside. 

Sure, being stuck as a dog for two months kinda sucked overall, but Linong is infinitely grateful that he made the friends that he did. 

He makes it through the morning on a breeze, calm and cheery while accepting any and all birthday wishes. Kaihao hugs him super tight before shoving a container of warm breakfast food at him, sending him off to class with a bright smile and a ruffle of his hair. 

The rest of the day passes by much the same. Quanzhe hands him a pouch of enchanted crystals, to ward off bad luck and bring good fortune. Zeren and Yanchen both give him warm hoodies. Yanjun gives him a stack of books, sniffing haughtily when Dinghao laughs. 

From Dinghao, he gets aggressive hair ruffles and a confident  _ I didn’t get you a gift because my presence is a gift!  _ Before a pair of socks with dogs on them are pulled out from behind his back. He gets other things from his other friends - including tickets for him to go to the end of year dance showcase. 

But, perhaps the most horrifying gift he receives is this: a text from Zhengting.

**_zzt ge_ ** **_  
_ ** hey can you come to our apartment

**_nongnong_ ** **_  
_ ** ……...why

**_zzt ge_ ** **_  
_ ** i think justin turned himself into a cat

_**zzt** **ge**_  
please help me take him to ziyi to fix this

Linong sighs. Dinner’s off for them now, he guesses.

Goddamn Justin Huang.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed this!!! i started it a week ago - so please forgive me if it's not up to par. i just wanted to post something for nongnong's birthday ^____^
> 
> leave me feedback in the comments _or_ on twitter / curiouscat!!! (and/or leave prompts in my cc inbox - i love that <3) (please be nice to me)


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